The Beadle Maniacs

Joan of Arc is a significant person in the history of France as a nation. She is probably the only female who was able to influence the French military force in a very significant and substantial way. During her lifetime, she was an asset to her nation and her influence remained even after her last breath.

Joan played a huge role in the Hundred Years’ War which pushed on more than two decades after her demise. The coronation of Charles VII, which was something that Joan fought hard for, was finally successful and he became the legitimate king of France. This happened despite the fact that the young Henry VI was also crowned during the same time. England’s military forces were following a downhill direction after they were defeated in 1429 as well as when they lost their partnership with Burgundy. Because Charles VI was still at a very tender age and was therefore unable to effectively managed his affairs, his rule finally ended making Charles VII the true, one and only King of France. Joan of Arc’s aggressive military approach when she was alive allowed the French to develop tactics that were crucial in their achievement of success.

Joan of Arc was able to obtain some degree of retribution from her execution when the Church staged a religious play depicting her life in Orleans. What’s more, the people who participated and witnessed the play were granted church indulgence which basically means that they have been partially forgiven for their sins.

The retrial of Joan of Arc occurred after the Hundred Years’ War ended. This was due to the request of an inquisitor general named Jean Brehal and Isabelle Romee, Joan’s mother. The request for retrial was approved by the then pope, Callixtus III. The case of Joan of Arc was reopened in the attempts of reversing the previous verdict and condemnation. Appeals included several members of the clergy and the court. Theologians were also asked to interview and take a good look at the testimonies of more than a hundred witnesses. The final verdict was released in the month of June 1456 which stated that Joan of Arc was indeed a martyr. It was also stated in the verdict that Pierre Cauchon, the man who was mainly responsible for Joan’s execution, was incriminated for heresy. Joan was finally freed from all charges and was affirmed to be innocent on the 7^th of July, 1456.

What is considered to be the most important posthumous event for Joan of Arc was her canonization. In the 16^th century, she was finally considered to be someone who represented the ideals of the Catholic League. In 1849, Felix Dupanloup became the bishop of Orleans and he was responsible for working towards the 1909 beatification of Joan of Arc. This ultimately led to Joan of Arc to be canonized and made into a saint by Pope Benedict XV in May 16, 1920. Although it has taken quite some time, Joan was finally recognized for her efforts.

One of the names that were prominently known during the Hundred Years’ War was Joan of Arc. Apart from being a woman who served in the army, the military strategies that she utilized and imposed on her followers were aggressive in nature. This approach deviated from what the French was used to doing which involved the adaptation of cautious military strategies. There was an instance when the French tried to utilize an offensive military approach however this did not fare well and so they reverted to their usual cautious military strategy.

Joan set out to attach the Saint Loup fortress where she eventually succeeded. She did not allow any time for rest and again travelled to another fortress the next day. It was a place named Saint Jean le Blanc and when Joan arrived there, no one was around. Again, she did not waste a day for rest and moved on to a war council. Once there she went against the wishes of Jean d’Orleans and challenged them to another dispute and a war. Jean D’Orleans was not amenable to this and so to thwart the occurrence of war, she closed the gates of her city. This did not stop Joan from attacking. She was able to coerce the town mayor into opening the city after which she and her troops were able to conquer the city’s Saint Augustins fortress.

Joan of Arc’s aggressive approach to war lead her to a lot of victories. She was confident in her leadership abilities and the loyalty of her men. On the eve of the day she captured the fortress of St. Augustins, the war council met and were able to agree on waiting for back up and more military before launching another offensive. Joan did not agree to this and she acted on her impulse to attack the English’ strongest fortress which was called les Tourelles. This siege occurred just a couple of days after she conquered St. Augustins.

A lot of Joan of Arc’s colleagues recognized her dedication to the French military and to her country. In fact, she did not rest even when an arrow hit her on the neck. She still managed to stand up for her troops and lead them into war. Because of her constant successes, the French now saw the good in taking aggressive military strategies. Joan’s charisma even influenced Charles the VII to allow her to work with the Duke John II of Alecon’s army. She was also given the go signal to take into French custody the bridges surrounding the enemy territory of a place called Rheims.

Even highly experienced military men bowed to the ingenuity of Joan’s leadership strategies. She led the French army to a lot of victories and they were able to regain control of Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency in just a week’s time. Apart from being subjected to an arrow hit, she also received a stone cannonball blow. All these injuries and other difficulties of leading a war did not prevent her from forging on working towards her goal which was to have Charles the VII crowned as the one and only Sovereign of France.

There are truly a lot of influential people in history. They are individuals who were able to impress upon their generation that a single person can make a huge difference not only in one’s locality but also for the rest of the country and for the world. Most individuals are used to seeing men dominate most important events in history. However, in the history of France, a female’s name resounds. She was Joan of Arc, an ordinary woman who ultimately became a symbol of French heroism.

Joan or Jeanne d’Arc was born to a simple middle class family. Her father was named Jacques d’Arc and her mother was named Isabelle Romee. Joan lived in the duchy of Bar in a village called Domremy. This place was surrounded by Burgundian territory but those who inhabit Joan’s village were under France’s her family owned a medium sized piece of land where her father did a bit of farming. At the same time, Jacques d’Arc also worked as a village official and was mainly in charge of tax collection and the village watch.

There seems to be some doubts regarding the real year of Joan of Arc’s birth. If historians base it on Joan’s statement that she was 19 years of age when she was tried for heresy. This means that she was born sometime in 1412. Joan was able to experience her first vision when she was about 12 years of age. This was sometime in the year 1424. In her vision, she was able to see three saints namely Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret as well as Saint Michael. They instructed her to do her part in making the English leave France. She was also tasked to make the assumption of the French throne by the Dauphin possible.

Joan was not able to take immediate action for her visions. She had to wait until she was 16 when she was finally able to enlist the help of a kinsman so she can go to Vaucouleurs. There she met with the Count Robert de Baundricourt to ask his permission for Joan to go to Chinon and meet with the French court. Unfortunately, Baudricourt was unimpressed by Joan’s vision and did not grant her the permission she needed. But Joan of Arc cannot be swayed and so she returned a few months after this time bringing with men of higher stature. She was finally granted the permission to go the royal French court.

Once Joan of Arc was in Chinon, she was able to secure a private meeting with Charles VII who was very amazed with what Joan had to say. Joan was then allowed to take a trip with an army and because women in the army were unheard of, she had to be under the guise of a man. Joan of Arc possessed a natural charisma that was able to inspire the French troops. She came at the right time when the morale of the French military was in the dumps. Also, she had a style of leadership that was pretty unusual for the French Army that time.